


A Change of Pace: (A Trigger Happy Havoc Rewrite)

by booknurdll



Series: Danganronpa Butterfly Effect [1]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Genre: Anxiety Attacks, Attempt at Humor, Basically rewriting all the killing games, Blood and Gore, Blood and Violence, Canon Rewrite, Coming of Age, Eventual Romance, F/F, F/M, Fix-It, Fluff and Angst, Hope vs. Despair, Hurt/Comfort, I'll figure out tags eventually, Implied Sexual Content, Killing Game (Dangan Ronpa), LGBTQ Themes, M/M, Murder, One-Sided Attraction, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Spoilers, Suicide, Suicide Attempt, Swearing, Tags Are Hard
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:26:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28470114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/booknurdll/pseuds/booknurdll
Summary: Have you ever heard of the butterfly effect? Where one small change in an almost harmless factor, can have a plethora of effects on the initial future?Makoto Naegi is your average boy. Everything about him is average, or so he thinks. It's not until an uncanny and unrecognizable voice tells him something that will forever change this killing game.
Relationships: Asahina Aoi/Ogami Sakura, Celestia Ludenberg & Yamada Hifumi, Fujisaki Chihiro/Maizono Sayaka, Fukawa Touko & Togami Byakuya, Hagakure Yasuhiro/Togami Byakuya, Ishimaru Kiyotaka/Naegi Makoto, Ishimaru Kiyotaka/Oowada Mondo, Kirigiri Kyoko & Naegi Makoto, Kirigiri Kyoko/Celestia Ludenberg, Kuwata Leon & Naegi Makoto
Series: Danganronpa Butterfly Effect [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2084886
Comments: 8
Kudos: 35





	A Change of Pace: (A Trigger Happy Havoc Rewrite)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Alexon_COCG](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alexon_COCG/gifts).



> Hello! I just want to start by saying that I've been wanting to rewrite Danganronpa for quite a while, and it wouldn't be possible without @Alexon_COCG's help. They came up with so many good ideas, murders, etc. Like I would've cried myself to sleep without his help tbh.
> 
> ~~~~~~
> 
> Before we officially begin, the tags are a basic explanation of what's to come. This will immediately open up with who the mastermind is, and yes it's who you think it's gonna be. So, DO NOT read this if you haven't played the games first, or if you don't want to be spoiled. If you are uncomfortable with LGBT ships, topics of suicide, anxiety, or death in general, please refrain, or click away from this story. If you are unhappy with Alexon's and my decisions of who lives or dies, understand that a lot of these were not easy to make, since we love a lot of the characters just as much as the next danganronpa fan :((.
> 
> That is all!! I hope you guys enjoy this wild ride!!

Makoto hears a voice in the darkness.

Quiet and pure, the voice spoke to him. The suddenness didn't make him flinch. Instead, he welcomed it with open arms. Being the normal and average student that he is, the voice boosted his curiosity.

"Who are you?" He asked inside his head. It wouldn't hear the student like that, but he couldn't open his mouth to speak. As if some dark force was holding onto his tongue. Keeping his lips zipped tight in a closed line.

"If I told you something. . . that could change this game you are about to play. Would you listen?" The voice was indiscernible. Makoto couldn't place any gender on it. That was a question he never thought someone would ask him. He got into Hope’s Peak as the Ultimate Lucky Student. So is his luck good, or is it bad right now? Unsure, Makoto tried to open his mouth to vocalize, but still, no words came out.

"Would I? I don't get what you mean?" Makoto tried to tell it, or them. It was hard to tell when he couldn't hear anything else except this voice.

"The mastermind is Junko Enoshima." The voice spoke softly, ignoring his question.

Makoto is, once again, consumed by the pitch-black void.

.

.

.

It was bizarre, trying to wake up. Makoto’s back made a weird popping noise as he gradually sat upwards in his seat.

“Nng. . . Where am I?” He took a slow glance at his surroundings. His head felt like it was on the verge of a meltdown with the fuzzy thumping going on his head. Directly in front of him is an oversized security camera that is aiming directly at him, and a chalkboard with some childish depictions of drawings on them. Makoto would never label it as anything even close to resembling art, but it was unsettling nonetheless. He ignored the shiver that traveled down his spine.

“T-This is weird. . . that voice I heard too. . .” He thought as he spoke out loud to himself. The last thing he remembered was walking into Hope’s Peak Academy before everything began to churn and spin, knocking him out, falling unconscious. Now, it’s normal for Makoto to zonk off in the middle of a boring class, yet this isn’t the same situation. I mean, even an average guy like him would at least know how they got here, and nothing like that surfaced to the front of Makoto’s memory. It’s just blank. Well, except for one thing.

“What the heck is going on. . .?” 

Makoto staggered as he braced himself against the wooden desk. His lower body shook from how heavy he felt trying to stand-up. If Makoto didn’t know any better, he would’ve guessed that he’s been asleep there for a while. He glanced up at the clock.

“Eight o’clock. . . it was just after seven when I got here.” He whispered to himself. As strange as it is, he might have been asleep a lot longer than what the time suggests. He could just be delusional, but that doesn’t sound right either. Over to his right, he notices metal plates with some of the biggest screws he’s ever seen, and that he isn’t exaggerating. Makoto maneuvers his way around the desks and raises his fist.

Bang, bang!

The sound is thick and louder than he thought it should be. That’s not what matters though! Why are there metal plates over the windows, anyway? It doesn’t make any sense. Judging by the fact that this is a classroom that he’s woken up in, these shouldn’t be here. He frowns as he goes back around and sees a wrinkled pamphlet lying down on top of a desk. It was in front of him when he woke up, which he purposefully ignored because of how unprofessional it looks.

“The next semester is about to start. Starting today, this school will be your entire world."

Makoto repeated the words over in his head. The main part that stuck out, was how it said, ‘this school will be your entire world.’ What is that supposed to mean? I guess he doesn’t have any choice, other than doing as it says. With reluctance, he makes his way over to the classroom door and steps out into the hallway. 

The lighting is the first thing that struck him as odd, or it might just be the hallway in general. The violet bounced off the checkered tiles and reflected strangely against his pale-ivory skin. It was almost funny to look at, but Makoto still has no idea what’s going on. He wanders past the other rooms and around a giant pillar until he comes face-to-face with the main hall, or at least that’s what he thinks it is. The two double doors stood imposing down on him. Makoto made a thick, swallowing sound.

As Makoto’s nerves spiked to the max, he takes his first step in and a scruffy guy with dreadlocks that stick out in every direction greets him. The brown-skinned man walked up to him enthusiastically, sticking out a hand. The Lucky Student takes it, confused at how soft it feels.

“Hey, new kid! Nice to see you awake.” The man says with a slight flush on his features. Makoto tilts his head as he looks behind him to notice a bunch of eyes gazing directly at him. Makoto shrinks in on himself a bit before he curiously tilts his head.

“Huh. . .? Then are you guys all. . .?” Makoto says as he looks around at the many colorful people for an answer.

“Yeah, we’re all new here. . . Today is supposed to be our first day of class.” A timid girl with a shorter stature says quietly.

“So counting him, that makes fifteen. Seems like a good cut-off point, but I wonder if this is everyone?” A portly boy says as he pushes his glasses up against his nose.

Makoto takes a moment to look at the other students in front of him. These are the “Ultimate Students” that were specifically hand-picked by the school. From a glance, it’s a bit tricky to tell what talent each of them could have. Makoto did do his research before this, but he didn’t know what they resembled like. Not that he had kept those expectations low or anything. A lot of them are admittedly attractive, not that he would ever say that out loud.

The lucky student wasn’t sure why, but they all had a certain aura radiating off of them. He curiously looked to see if he could gauge anything from their reactions, but they all looked just as confused as he felt.

“Uh. . . how is everyone? My name’s Makoto Naegi.” Makoto states, taking in a breath. “Sorry, I’m late. A bunch of weird stuff happened, and then all of a sudden I was just. . . asleep.”

“Whoa! You too, man?” Dreadlock gasps while bringing a hand animatedly to his mouth.

“This situation keeps on getting peculiar and peculiar. . .” A goth-like girl, with pale skin and black drills, speaks while putting a clawed finger to her chin. Tilting her head.

“Indeed! I concur this situation is strange without a doubt. Strange indeed.” The portly boy raises a finger to the ceiling. As if he just solved some great mystery.

“Um. . . what are you talking about? I honestly have no idea what’s-” Makoto paused for a second as a thought crossed his mind, or more like the name he heard of before. Even if it isn’t much to go off of, could someone that is a self-proclaimed and deceitful mastermind truly behind this predicament? Would any of the other Ultimates even believe him if he simply told them that?

“W-What’s with that look on y-your face? A-Are you undressing me with your eyes? You probably t-think I’m some d-disgusting pig, don’t you?!” A girl with dark purple hair braids and round circular glasses points a hysterical finger at him. Makoto flinches on instinct.

“N-Nothing like that! It’s just- I wonder what’s going on is all.” Makoto flusters while he awkwardly reaches for the back of his head. It might be best to stay quiet, for now. 

“Your tardiness is inexcusable, Makoto!” A man with slicked back, short-black hair, and a white military outfit, pointed accusingly at the other boy. “Surely, you were aware that the meeting was to start at 8 a.m. sharp?! To be late on your first day is unspeakable! I must report you to the higher-ups, so you may accept your due punishment!”

“What’s wrong with you?” A girl with bleached-strawberry blonde hair, with long twin ponytails, sighs in annoyance at the military guy. “It isn’t like he wanted to be late. The guy didn’t have any control over it.”

“Everyone settle down!” A pear-shaped girl with brown skin pumps her fists in front of her, confidently gazing at her peers. “Why don’t we all go around and introduce ourselves?”

“The hell!?” A slightly tan and stronger looking guy mutters, his 1960’s pompadour, swaying into the direction of the confident girl. “Now isn’t the time for friggin’ introductions!”

“Maybe,” The goth girl giggles. “It would be good to find out who each of us are before digging into the bigger issues, no? How else could we talk to each other without knowing each other’s names?”

“That’s a good point…” The small girl says quietly.

“Alright then,” A pretty girl with dark blue hair and eyes speaks with a finger to her lips. “Once we get introductions out of the way, then we can move on to whatever else. Sounds good?”

Makoto hummed in agreement as he took another glance at the rest of the students. He remembers looking them up on the Hope’s Peak Academy thread online, yet he doesn’t know exactly the kind of people they are. The young teen was still totally lost on how to approach any of this, but now might be the best chance he could get. He takes another breath to settle his nerves.

Over by the giant imposing door, or what looks more like a ginormous safe, blocks their any means of escape. Some students were standing in front of it, talking in a different variety of tones. The first to catch his eye was the man who reprimanded him earlier for being late. He stood at attention like he was in the army, with striking red eyes that seemed to study him with confidence. 

“I’m Kiyotaka Ishimaru, the Ultimate Moral Compass!” He crossed his arms as his large and long matching eyebrows furrowed. His short-spiky black hair also appeared to stand at attention. “I believe in bold simplicity, so let’s work together on our educational crusade!”

So this is Kiyotaka, and from what Makoto read on that thread online, Kiyotaka went to a private school where he earned top honors every year. He's practically a flawless honor student. Kiyotaka is also known for the work he’s done with his Public Morals Committee. Makoto doesn’t think he’d be able to put so much effort in school, but they said that Kiyotaka respects rules above all else. He hopes that he’s not too strict.

“Let’s skip the formalities! You can call me Taka. You said your name was Makoto Naegi, right?” Kiyotaka throws his hands in front of him with a boisterous laugh. “That’s a good name, a strong one! You should thank your family for giving you such a tremendous name! To keep that name from losing its value, you must devote yourself and work hard every single day!”

He thrusts a finger out in front of him and points towards the ceiling. “Life is about putting every ounce of effort into it! Right, Makoto!”

Makoto didn’t know if he should feel embarrassed or annoyed. Kiyotaka did compliment him on his name, but he also turned it into a long, dragged-out speech about hard work. It was annoying, but also cute in a strange way. The smaller boy wasn’t sure if it was Kiyotaka’s confidence or if it’s the way about how he seemed so confident in his words. Probably the latter.

“R-Right. Talk to you later then, Taka.” Makoto stutters as he proceeds over to the next student. Saying that Makoto wasn’t expecting Kiyotaka to be so straight-forward is an understatement. Makoto felt flustered, as compliments aren’t a thing he was used to hearing. Other than his family, but that doesn’t count.

The next student was looking anywhere but directly at Makoto. He had a sneaking suspicion that she might have been stealing glances, but he has no idea. The girl that shouted at him earlier for thinking she was a disgusting pig. Which he wasn’t. Her dark purple braids swung in his direction. A scowl on her features as she looked over to the side. The wire-framed, circular glasses, resting a bit off of her nose.

“N-Not like you’ll remember my no-name anyway, but I’m T-Toko. . . Toko Fukawa. T-The Ultimate W-Writing Prodigy.” She wrung her hands in front of her. Her gray eyes glanced to the side.

Toko wrote a novel around ten that instantly led her literary career. About two years ago, she released “So Lingers the Ocean,” which was said to be her masterpiece. It was such a hit with women that fishermen instantly shot up to the top of every “Hottest Men” poll. All of Toko’s books are instant bestsellers, and she has won countless literary prizes. Makoto isn’t a writer, by any means, but maybe he should try picking up one of Toko’s books and give them a try. Even though she mainly writes romance, Makoto expected her to be more of the sweeter and meek type.

“W-What are y-you looking at?! It isn’t p-polite to stare, you know.” Her face reddened, and Makoto had to tear his eyes away. “Y-You still think I’m such a filthy creature! T-That’s why y-you’re staring at me, isn’t it?”

“F-Filthy creature? No, I wasn’t thinking-!” 

“I-I know what you just thought!” Toko interrupted as she glared at Makoto. “Y-You were thinking how you’ve n-never seen such an u-ugly woman. Thinking it was sooo f-funny. . .!”

“I-I wasn’t thinking that at all, honest!” Makoto waved his hands in front of himself in a frantic manner. He wasn’t sure how to talk to someone like this without them twisting his thoughts.

“D-Don’t bother trying to lie to me! Otherwise, y-you wouldn’t be staring at m-me so much. . . Whatever I’m used to it.” Toko mutters as she looks off to the side again.

Makoto felt exasperated, trying to get his thoughts in order. He silently prayed that not every interaction would be like this, or he might just suffer through another headache. He left without saying another word to the Writing Prodigy. The next had to have been one of the most beautiful girls Makoto has ever seen. Her skin and body structure were almost doll-like. Beautifully blue, long hair that reached down past her waist. 

“Hi, I’m Sayaka Maizono, the Ultimate Pop Sensation.” Sayaka smiled softly, “I look forward to getting to know you!”

The way this girl moves is mesmerizing to look at. Her perfume had a smell that Makoto couldn’t quite place, although it’s a pleasant one. Sayaka Maizono was the lead country singer for her pop idol group, who’s famous all around Japan. It’s hard to miss her when she pops up on television or in magazines since she’s so high in demand. That’s not the only reason Makoto is shocked to find out she came to this school. It was a long time ago, and he’s not even sure she remembers. That’s alright because no matter how you look at it, Sayaka is beautiful. Almost like a doll or something.

“I’m not a doll, silly. I’m alive!” She grins wider. Makoto internally panics as he worries that he conversed his thoughts out loud. He didn’t want to humiliate himself in front of someone as famous and popular as her.

“D-Did you hear me? That’s so embarrassing. I apologize!” Makoto quickly bowed in front of her.

“I’m psychic,” Sayaka firmly states, with the sternest face possible. It would have been comical if it weren’t for Makoto’s embarrassment, or with how serious she said it.

“Huh?” Came the dumb reply.

“Kidding! I just have a good intuition.” She blushes a bit while letting out a small giggle. Makoto can only admire how smart she must be. Sayaka looked up with a finger to her lips, her eyebrows knitted into a slight frown.

“Hey, now that I think about it,” Sayaka mutters.

“I-is something wrong?” Makoto wondered in earnest. He was worried Sayaka might do that psychic thing, again. Sayaka gasped as a hand flew to cover her mouth.

“Yeah. . . that has to be it! Hey, Makoto, did you-,” She exclaimed but was quickly disrupted by Taka. His loud voice boomed throughout the room.

“Come on, you two! How long do you plan on wasting our valuable time with this ridiculous back and forth!?” Taka shouts as he points to Sayaka. Makoto couldn’t tell if he was annoyed or just getting impatient.

“S-Sorry!” Sayaka mutters as she flinches. “I just got carried away, I guess.”

“Self-introductions are for introducing yourselves!” He continues to scold. “Not bumbling through a bunch of idle chit-chats!”

“Y-You’re right. Sorry Makoto, we can talk about this later.” Sayaka said with a disappointed look. She walks away, leaving Makoto to wonder what’s on her mind. She’s right, though. They have all the time to talk about it later. 

Makoto goes to another student who’s casually leaning up against the wall. He has spikey orange hair, as well as a small goatee. Pale blue eyes landed on Makoto, making him flinch. Makoto was worried that he was one of those typical punk kinds of guys. When the boy got closer, he noticed all the piercings he had, as well as one resting on his tongue.

“Yo, Naegi, right? The name’s Leon Kuwata. I’m the Ultimate Baseball Star. What’s up?”

Makoto recognizes that name. Leon played for the national high school champs as their cleanup hitter. He was shocked because that superb athlete was standing right in front of him. There’s just something different about him.

“Y-You? Are you serious?” Makoto stuttered out. Leon seemed awkward as he tilted his head to the side, staring at Makoto curiously. The smaller boy glanced off to the side, as he worried he said something offensive.

"Huh? Is something wrong?” Leon asks.

“N-Nothing! I’m just surprised. I figured with you being the Ultimate Baseball Star, and all.” Makoto whispers that last part. His eyes wandering off to the side, resting on the big safe behind Leon.

“What? Were you expecting some kid with a shaved head?” Leon accuses making a ‘tch’ noise with his tongue.

“N-No, it’s not that!” Makoto explains dryly. “I was just expecting more of a sporty, more traditional-looking type of baseball player, you know? I-I mean, I saw that picture of you online, and that’s how you looked back then.”

“What!?” Leon’s face became red at that. “Aw man, you found that picture of me playing baseball? Seriously, I hate that one! That is so not cool. I’m like, mega embarrassed right now.”

Leon crosses his arms as he squints at the ceiling. “I didn’t have a choice, man. They force you to shave your head as a part of the national championship regulations! Now, I refuse to shave my hair, and I’m not dying it back to normal either!”

The baseball player shifts his weight, crossing his arms again. Leon’s eyes trailed over Makoto, as if unsure of what to reveal to him. “Hey Makoto, can I be honest with you?”

“W-What is it?” Makoto queries. 

“I don’t like baseball.” Came the simple reply. Makoto had to keep his jaw from going slack. “Like at all. I’ve never even gone to a single practice.”

Leon isn’t into baseball, but he’s one of the team’s leading star players? He must be some kind of prodigy. Makoto was never interested in sports. Neither did he have the strength or stamina for them either. Just like everything else, he was pretty average when it came to that kind of thing.

“As soon as I got accepted here, I’ll quit baseball for good! I have my dream for the future!” Leon yells while shaking his fists in front of him. His face determined.

“A dream. . . for the future?” Makoto echoes back.

“I want to be a musician, or at least get into music. You can feel that star-quality aura that I have about me, right? I’m going to be a singer, so all I need is someone on guitar and a songwriter. Then, we’re all set! This newer version of me that’s chasing this dream is super cool to the max!” Leon said this sheepishly, and Makoto could only gawk at the baseball star.

All of this was a bit much for Makoto to wrap his head around. Makoto never expected he’d hear something like this from the Ultimate Baseball Star, but he wasn’t one to judge. If anything, he supports the ambition. He smiles at Leon encouragingly before moving onto the next student. He’s a portly boy with large hands, thin legs, and a face that reminds Makoto of a hamster. He has short black hair that ends with curled points against his cheeks and forehead, and a small pointed ahoge.

“I am Hifumi Yamada! The Ultimate Fanfic Creator!” Hifumi declared and pushed his thick-rimmed glasses up his nose. “If you like, you can refer to me by my nickname, ‘The Alpha and the Omega!` I don’t mind.” 

Makoto didn’t want to know what Hifumi meant by that. The smaller boy could only squirm uncomfortably at what the other is suggesting.

“By the way,” Hifumi continued, “How much do you know about the world of 2D art?”

“2D. . . art?” Makoto mutters.

“In that world, I am known supremely and well regarded as the Ultimate Fanfic Creator!” Hifumi points above him, with a smirk on his face. “I once managed to sell 10,000 copies of one of my fan comics at a school festival. The event has now passed into legend. Most didn’t understand, saying that I ‘tainted’ the event. How stupid can you be!?”

Makoto wasn’t sure what to say, but selling that many copies is pretty remarkable. Makoto doesn’t have any drawing or writing abilities what-so-ever. His Japanese can be a bit uncanny at times, as well. Sure, Makoto gets pretty average grades because that’s how he is at everything. Doing so made it easier to blend into the background. Now that Makoto was here, with so many different and stylish Ultimates. It almost made him feel like he stood out the most. It wasn’t a good feeling.

“The words of such idiots mean nothing to me.” Hifumi continued with an unimpressed look. “I am like Van Gough, underappreciated in his time. I am like a soldier, serving night and day to eliminate any mindless preconceptions about fan fiction. I’m sure if you were to view my work, Mr. Naegi, you would recognize its greatness immediately. For my work is filled with the deepest meaning.”

Makoto blanked. “What. . . what kind of meaning?”

“It’s about embracing our basest urges!” Hifumi finishes loudly, pointing one of his big fingers straight at Makoto. As if Hifumi was in on some kind of inside joke that Makoto didn’t understand.

Makoto didn’t want to comprehend it. He moved on from the group of students, still feeling highly uncomfortable. He didn’t want to say he blamed Hifumi for that, but he did. Makoto just wouldn’t say that out loud. The small boy goes over to the left wall to meet another group of students. The first was the lean brown girl from earlier. Her brown hair was in a very high curled ponytail, accessorized with a paperclip-style. Her blue eyes lit up as she saw him walk over.

“Heya! I’m Aoi Asahina, the Ultimate Swimming Pro!” The swimming girl beamed at him. “Although my friends just call me Hina. ‘Sup?” 

Makoto reciprocates the same smile back. Hina has been breaking records in every competition she’s been in since elementary school. They selected her to become an upcoming Olympic cadet. With the combination of her ability and appearance, plus other things Makoto won’t mention, people went wild online for her. 

“So,” Hina looks to the side in thought. “Uh, what was your name again? Sorry, I completely forgot!”

“My name is Makoto Naegi.” He responds.

“Oh yeah! I knew it had to be something like that!” Hina giggles while Makoto looks at her strangely. He has no idea what she means by that.

“It’s not ‘something’ like that. It ‘is’ that.” Makoto huffs. The boy tried to enunciate the words “something” and “it.” An average guy like him with a boring name like that should be easy to remember. At least Makoto thought so.

“Sure! Sure! I got it! Here, I’ll hammer it into my brain right now!” Hina brings out her palm and begins tracing over it with her index finger. “Makoto Naegi. . . Makoto Naegi. . .” She repeats.

“What are you doing?” Makoto questions.

“You don’t know!?” She gasps while furrowing her brows. Almost like she found it surprising. “If you wanna remember someone’s name, you have to write it down on your palm three times!”

‘R-Really?” Makoto felt doubtful. “I’ve never heard of that before in my life,” Makoto says more in confusion than anything. He wasn’t calling her a liar. He’s mostly just curious about who told her that before.

“Hey, by the way,” Hina ignores. “How do you spell your last name?”

“You spell it exactly as it sounds.” Makoto blinks at her, baffled about why that was even a question that needed answering.

“Um. . .” Hina turns her head. As she looks back at him, she throws an arm behind her while a nervous bead of sweat drips down the side of her cheek. “Well, I have no idea. Hahaha! I’ll just figure it out later and write it down.” Hina waves him off. “Anyway, it was nice to meet ya!”

“S-Same here. . .?” Makoto responds as he walks away from the girl. At least she was easy-going and bursting with energy. Not that any of the other students weren’t like that. It’s just that Hina felt to be a bit different than the rest. In terms of easy-going, that is.

The small girl from earlier had light-brown layered hair that swung in his direction. Nervous hazel eyes tried their best to convey friendliness to Makoto. She looked to be on the verge of tears as she waved a hand and patted her dark green jacket.

“Hello, nice to meet you.” The small voice meekly whispers. “I’m Chihiro Fujisaki, the Ultimate Programmer.”

Chihiro looks away, her face turning scarlet, “Sorry, I get kinda embarrassed whenever I introduce myself like this. . . Anyway, it’s nice to meet you!” Chihiro then smiles, placing her hands behind her back.

“Same here!” Makoto beams. “Nice to meet you!”

“Huh?” Chihiro gasps as she clasps her hands in front of her, taking a shaky step towards Makoto. “It could just be my imagination, but have we met before?”

“Um. . .” Makoto thought about it for a second, but no memory of the small girl came to his mind. “No, I don’t think so. This our first time meeting each other, which is why I said ‘nice to meet you.’”

“Oh, yeah. Good point. Sorry,” Chihiro bowed in shame, tears collecting in the corner of her eyes.

“N-No, it’s okay!” Makoto stutters. “You don’t need to apologize for that!” Makoto smiles, hoping that he didn’t offend or hurt Chihiro in any way.

“Oh, yeah. . .” Chihiro calms, and Makoto mentally sighs in relief.

Chihiro was known for all the new, cutting-edge programs that she’s developed. Her fanbase is larger thanks to her timid and bunny-like stature. Makoto didn’t see much other than that as there isn’t much info on her. Chihiro frowns as her face reddens and again looks like she’s about to cry.

“Hey, so listen,” Chihiro pauses. “I-I’m sorry.”

“H-Huh?” Makoto feels himself flinch again like he did something wrong. “Why are you apologizing?”

“Well, it’s just cause’ you seem upset.” Chihiro seems sadder than before. “You must be mad at me, right?”

“No, not at all!” The lucky student tells her. He has to get his point across, that he doesn’t hate her, or anyone for that matter. “I was just lost in thought about something.”

“Huh? Lost in thought...?” Came the small reply. Makoto almost didn’t hear her.

“Yeah!” Makoto exclaims as he gives her a reassuring smile. “It had nothing to do with me being upset or anything.”

“Oh! What a relief!” Chihiro smiles, a tint of a blush spreading along her cheeks. She had tears in her eyes again, but they were happy rather than sad. “I was afraid that maybe you didn’t like me.” She put a hand over her heart. “Hehe! I’m glad!”

Makoto felt himself relax. He realizes now why her fans were so head-over-heels for the small programmer. Anytime she was happy, Makoto felt relief. Whenever she was sad, Makoto felt guilty. It was like the domino effect when being around her. The lucky student made it his mission not to upset Chihiro for the sake of his guilty emotions. He bowed as he left.

Over by herself was a girl with long lavender hair, down with a single braid on her left side, and tied with a black ribbon. Purple eyes glanced away from Makoto even as he approached her. Makoto thought she was ignoring him when she crossed her arms. Black leather gloves gripping her forearms. Once Makoto stood in front of her, they stood in silence for what felt like minutes, when it could’ve only been a couple of seconds. The pale girl, refusing to strike a conversation.

“U-Um. . .” Makoto stutters as he doesn't want to just stand in silence forever. “May I ask you for your name?”

When the mysterious girl didn’t answer, Makoto worried that she didn’t hear him. “My name is. . . Kyoko Kirigiri.” 

Makoto took note of how tight-lipped she was. Only telling information that is the most important is probably for the best. Although, he doesn’t remember Kyoko’s name showing up on the Hope’s Peak Academy thread anywhere. A lot of students like Makoto didn’t seem to have any real identity or presence. If their names were to pop up online, it would be unusual. Makoto wondered if it was the same for this girl as he opened his mouth.

“Um. . . so how did you get into this school?” The shorter boy looked up as the girl reached behind her head, still avoiding eye contact.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kyoko scowled.

“I-I didn’t mean it like that.” Makoto stutters. “It’s just that you got invited to this school, right? Which would make you an Ultimate “something,” right? Mind telling me what that is?”

“Why should I tell you?” Came the dismissive reply. Makoto could’ve sworn he flinched.

“Huh?” Makoto thought, “Well, I guess you don’t have to tell me.”

“No,” She said sternly. If she showed anything, it might’ve been a sigh of relief, or maybe that’s just Makoto’s imagination playing tricks on him. “I don’t have to tell you, so I’m not going to.” 

Nothing about Kyoko turned up online. Makoto thought she might’ve gotten picked by chance, like him, which then again can’t be possible. Hope’s Peak scouts their students, yet Makoto was chosen as this year’s lucky student by chance. So the other couldn’t be her unless she was in a different year, which he doubted. When Kyoko continued her silence, Makoto sighed as he went to the next student. If she doesn’t want to tell him anything, there wasn’t a point in asking. 

This girl made Makoto stop in his tracks. His throat suddenly felt dry as he stood face to face with the girl in front of him. She has an hourglass-like body and long, thick, bleached strawberry-blonde hair tied in two twin pigtails. The girl looked at Makoto and gave him an overly enthusiastic grin. Light blue eyes barely noticeable as she squints.

“Hi!” Said the sing-songy voice. “I’m Junko Enoshima! Charmed, I’m sure!”

Makoto gaped at her, and not for the reason Junko might have thought. The longer he looked at her, the more that voice lingered in the back of his mind. ‘The mastermind is Junko Enoshima.’ It was like a tape wheel that relayed that message over and over in his head, and Makoto could only shiver. His knees felt like they would give out from underneath him.

“N-No. . . that doesn’t sound right.” He practically breathed out that response as Junko gave him an incredulous look.

“What?” Junko’s eyes widened again as if she came to some ground-breaking revelation. “Oh, are you talking about my cover photos and junk?” She giggled. “I thought so! Those are photoshopped. You know, edited to hell and back.” 

The rest of the words drowned out in Makoto’s ears. Junko Enoshima is a name that he couldn’t forget as his memory continued to repeat it. It could be his headache from earlier that was still taunting him, but he wasn’t sure.

“Is. . . Is that really your name?”

“H-Huh?” Junko seemed to freeze up as her cheerful grin quickly turned sour. “W-What’s that supposed to mean? I mean, you’d have to be living under a rock, or something, to not know who I am!”

“That isn’t you?” Now Makoto felt confused. Could Junko be behind something like this? She doesn’t even look like the Junko he’s seen all over the magazines.

“Hey?” Junko repeated as a nervous sweat broke out over her forehead. “Makoto Naegi, right? Look, I don’t know what your deal is, but Junko Enoshima is my name! Just like how Makoto Naegi is yours! I don’t know why that’s so difficult to understand. So, just chill, alright?”

“B-But-” Makoto stutters again as he is once again cut off by Taka. His tumultuous voice rang in his ears, doing nothing to help his ongoing headache.

“Makoto! Stop this pointless chatting at once! At this time, we should only give each other our introductions. You can have a meeting with her later.” His eyebrows furrow as some of the other students turn towards this exchange. Makoto shrinks in on himself as he bows deeply, his face heating in discomfort. 

“Y-You’re right. . . I’m sorry!” He directed it towards Junko in front of him, and she was still smiling. However, with much less enthusiasm and what looked to be a measure of annoyance? At least that’s how Makoto would describe that look.

“Yeah, totally! We’ll have plenty of time to talk about it later. Let’s call it a date between friends, Makoto.” Junko’s smile somehow grew impossibly wider, and Makoto gulped. The thick bile slowly washed its way down his now parched throat. He didn’t know that he could leave so fast.

The next student made Makoto feel frightened, but not as much as the last one did. He has slightly tanned skin and a tall, muscular build. His dark-brown hair looks like a punch perm, styled-1960’s pompadour. He has a deep-ridged black eye-line circling his pale-purple eyes, making Makoto tremble a bit under his gaze. Those eyes glimpsed over to Makoto, and the taller man rolled his eyes.

“The hell was that about?” The man’s voice was gruff and deep, as Makoto expected.

“I-It’s nothing,” Makoto replies shyly. It wasn’t from embarrassment, more like he’s terrified of how intimidating this guy is. Makoto is one of the shortest guys here, and Mondo seemed to be the tallest. The height difference alone is what made him a bit nervous. 

“Tsk. . . It’s none of my business anyway. Name’s Mondo Oowada.” He looked off to the side, fists grasped inside his over-coat. “Nice to fuckin’ meetcha.”

Makoto met him in the eyes as he tried to articulate again. Mondo Oowada, huh? He recognizes that name. Mondo is the current leader of the largest biker gang in Japan. In the country, gangs respect and fawn over him. They look up to the guy, although Makoto couldn’t say the same. He’s always been cautious around anything that suggested danger, which includes gangs or thugs.

“Nice to meet you, too?” He responds. How exactly was he supposed to talk to someone like this?

“Hell yeah,” Mondo says as he awkwardly reaches a hand behind his neck, purple eyes looking down at the ground. Maybe he was just as awkward as Makoto is. He didn’t expect something like that from Mondo of all people. The smaller student bows respectfully. One wrong move around Mondo and he might get beaten into the earth.

Makoto isn’t one to judge, so he hopes Mondo isn’t that kind of person. Just from talking to him alone, Mondo seems relaxed enough to hang out with Makoto.

Makoto proceeds over to more students who were near the entrance of the door. There were four of them left, which is good since Makoto doesn’t know how many more names he could memorize. The first student he sees has to be the tallest, and most buff one here. Their large hulking frame towered above the rest of the students. They have long white hair and reddened-dark skin. Pale blue eyes squinted as Makoto walked up to them. He noticed a scar across their face and over their shoulder.

“I am Sakura Oogami. The Ultimate Martial Artist.” Sakura’s deep voice made Makoto shiver. They scared Makoto more than Mondo and Junko did.

Now that Makoto got closer, he felt his heart nearly palpitate out of his chest. He almost asked Sakura if she was a guy. He thanked whoever was watching him above because that’s the day he would’ve had to sign his will. He remembers now, Sakura has fought in over four hundred matches and hasn’t lost a single one. She competed in a martial arts tournament in America and won, despite being a girl.

Sakura turned to the side, her arms crossed as a frown tainted her features. 

“Hey, you.”

“H-Huh? Yes?” Makoto shook as he stiffened. Her deep voice rattling his bones. Twisting on her feet, she reached out her hands, beginning to poke and prod at his body. The action did nothing to help calm his nerves. He felt his body flush.

“W-What are you. . .?”

“Muscular quantity and quality are around that of an ordinary high school student.” She responded cooly as she continued moving her hands around his lower abdomen.

“Hmph, what a shame.” Sakura’s nose scrunched up as she backed away, giving Makoto a chance to catch his breath. “You’re not at all fit to be my training partner.”

Makoto wasn’t sure exactly how that’s a shame, but he wasn’t complaining. If he had to train with someone like Sakura, that would be a living nightmare. He bows after saying goodbye and heading off to the next student. He has a very slender build with strikingly long legs. Neat dirty-blond hair that reached down to his chin. He was wearing one of those black business suits, or at least that’s how Makoto would describe it. His pale blue eyes glared off to the side as Makoto approached him.

The tall male had occasionally given glances towards Makoto as if he was paying him no mind. Makoto didn’t know what to say. Perhaps he should attempt to start the conversation? Yeah, that seems like a good idea.

“Hello, um. . . nice to meet you.” He asked nicely, looking up at him.

A scoff had come out from his mouth. He turned to look down at the male, which reminded Makoto of how short he was, compared to him.

“I’m Byakuya Togami. The Ultimate Affluent Progeny.” Byakuya stated in a simplistic yet snobby tone. It seemed that Byakuya didn’t want to converse with him, which was apparent with how the corner of his lips tugged downwards.

Makoto expected Byakuya to say more than that, but when he heard nothing, he could only frown. That was the most half-assed introduction the smaller student has ever heard. It’s not like Makoto could do anything about it, considering Byakuya’s status. He's the heir apparent of his family's massive financial conglomerate. He’s already started managing business operations, and his assets have swiftly been increasing. 

“Are we done with introductions?” Byakuya turns to Makoto with an eyebrow raised skeptically. “How much longer are you going to stand there?” 

Makoto grimaces as he opens his mouth to retort, but Byakuya turns away.

“Go away. I’m sick of looking at you.” He finished. Makoto slumped in defeat, realizing that he and Byakuya would never be on the same level. The aura from him alone is enough to push just about anyone away. The smaller student sighs as he walks on.

After turning, he ends up finding the guy that shook his hand earlier. His dark brown hair sticks out in large points, styled like dreadlocks. He has dark brown skin with a stubble over his chin, making him look much older than the rest of the students. As the guy’s dark chocolate-colored eyes looked at Makoto, he gave a huge smile. 

“Hey! Yasuhiro Hagakure - Hiro for short. They call me the Ultimate Clairvoyant. Take it easy, yeah? I know I will.” Hiro greets in a laid back manner. It was almost as if he had no concern for the situation they currently resided in. Makoto couldn’t blame him,

In the psychic community, they called Yasuhiro to be a “Supernova.” Makoto didn’t understand all the fortune-telling stuff, but it doesn’t mean he thought of the fortune-tellers any less. That kind of thing was beyond him. The smaller boy still wondered if there was any kind of truth behind it.

“Ah. . . Okay, I give up,” Yasuhiro said while gripping his chin with his thumb. Makoto jumped, as he almost forgot he was talking to him.

“S-Sorry, what happened?” Makoto responds.

“Yeah, that’s right. . .I looked directly at it. Seriously, I saw it!”

“. . . Saw what?” Makoto replies slowly, his nerves skyrocketing again. He wasn’t sure what Yasuhiro saw, but it was making him feel paranoid.

“A guardian angel!” Yasuhiro exclaimed while Makoto only squinted at him. “Yeah, with a crazy perm chasing after bigfoot, running off with a sky fish in its mouth.”

“W-Wha-” Makoto starts as he remains ignored and cut-off by Yasuhiro.

“And that guardian angel is your guardian angel!”

Makoto said nothing as he ended up staying stunned in silence. He was about to object to Yasuhiro before he let out a laugh, crossing his arms.

“Nah, I’m just kiddin’, Makoto! If you want to, we should grab some brewskis sometime and get deep into Lemuria about its civilization.” Yasuhiro grinned again.

“What!?” Makoto shouted, horrified at even just the thought of drinking. “We’re not allowed to do that. We’re in high school!"

“Oh,” Yasuhiro said as his face mellowed out. “I’m actually 21. I’ve been held back a few times, and, well, it’s a long story.”

Makoto does believe that it’s a long story, and probably a boring one. He waves to Yasuhiro and strolls over to the final student. She wears a white lace-bonnet with white ribbons and has black hair in two large twin-drill pigtails. The goth-like girl has stunning pale skin. Her red eyes watched as Makoto made his way over, a calm and calculating smile that made him shiver in discomfort.

“I do not believe we have been introduced. I am Celestia Ludenburg. The Ultimate Gambler.” Celestia speaks in a pristine and doll-like manner. She was smiling, but Makoto wasn’t sure if it was real or not.

“Celestia. . . Luden. . .Huh?” Makoto struggles to repeat the name.

“Ludenburg,” Celestia continues as she rests her chin on the top of her linked fingers. “It is my name, but if you don’t mind, I would prefer if you refer to me as Celeste.”

“You. . . you are Japanese, right?” Makoto questions. He’s never heard a name like that in Japan, and it’s a bit hard for him to pronounce. She could be going under some sort of alias, but he isn’t sure. It’s just not a Japanese name.

“Heh-heh,” She giggles as she brings a long, black fingernail to her chin. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Makoto. Celestia Ludenburg is my real name, but as I told you before. I would much prefer if you call me Celeste.”

Makoto shrank in on himself. Celestia was polite but forceful at the same time. Makoto guessed right about those rumors he saw about her in the thread. The Ultimate Gambler who has never lost a single bet. She had an undeniable love for gothic and lolita clothes. Everything about the gambler was wrapped in an inescapable amount of lies. They called her the “Queen of Liars.” That title alone was something that made Makoto immediately lose trust in her, even if they did just meet. 

“I look forward to getting to know you better.” She says with another laugh. A dainty hand was brought up to hide her smile. “Heh-heh-heh.”

That smile was beyond deceptive. Makoto shook off the last of his nerves, and once he walked away, he felt like he could finally breathe. He has met every Ultimate. Byakuya then took charge, crossing his arms as he looked down at everyone. People were talking, but it was apparent that everyone is now acquainted. 

“Okay, time to get down to business.” Byakuya orders as he crosses his arms. “This is no time to stand around making friends like a bunch of dull-eyed baboons.”

“Oh, that’s right.” Makoto realizes as he ignores Byakuya’s remark. “Someone said something about a bigger problem? What’s that about?”

“Well, you see. . .” Sayaka starts as she apprehensively grasps her chin, her eyebrows knitting into a tight line. “Makoto, you said a bunch of stuff happened, then you just fell asleep, right? Well, the same is true for all of us.”

“W-What?” He stutters. “Seriously?”

“Mhm,” Leon joins in. “Just after each of us got to the main hall, we lost consciousness. Then, when we woke up, it was somewhere in the school. That’s what happened to you, right?”

“B-But that’s just weird!” The smaller student exclaims. “How could all of us just get knocked out like that?”

“Exactly, that’s why we’re freaking the fuck out!” Mondo yells with a fist in the air.

“That isn’t the only thing, Makoto,” Kiyotaka says with a fist underneath his chin, thinking. “You saw where all the windows are located, in the classrooms and hallways?”

Makoto thought back to where he first woke up and what he saw while going down to the main hall. The windows had the same, strange, recurring pattern. He nodded along with Kiyotaka.

“Instead of a bunch of regular glass windows, they were covered in a bunch of metal plates. What’s that all about?” The moral compass shook his head. Makoto didn’t blame him since it wasn’t an easy thing to get his head around.

“Nevermind that!” Junko interrupted, a scowl replacing her features. “All my stuff is missing! Even my cell phone!”

“She’s right,” Chihiro mumbles as a sweat breaks out along her face. “I haven’t seen mine at all either.”

“Then there’s the main hall,” Kiyotaka continues. “The exit is blocked by some giant, metal hatch. What the heck is it doing here? It wasn’t like that when we first got here, right?”

“Maybe,” Junko began to suggest as her face paled. “What if we got caught up in, some kinda like, crime or something?” 

“What?” Leon said in a disgusted tone. “You mean like a kidnapping? Do you think someone just grabbed us and hauled us off somewhere?”

“Come on,” Yasuhiro spoke up with a deep look on his face. “Don’t think like that! Cheer up, guys! I bet this is all just a part of the school’s orientation procedure. Yeah, that has to be it! So I’m gonna’ take it easy for a bit.”

“Oh. . .” Makoto saw Chihiro visibly relax, tears of relief collecting in the corner of her eyes. “So you think they wanted to do something to surprise us?”

“Huh,” Leon deadpanned. “Well, if that’s all it is then I’m going to head off for a nap. I was up way too late last night. That and my head is killing me.”

Makoto felt as if all the tension amongst the students had lifted. He wasn’t so sure, as that dark thought had stilled itself in the back of his mind. Something that Makoto couldn’t outright ignore. 

Then, without any warning, a bell went off in the distance. Makoto jumped as the rest of the students had mostly visible reactions.

“Ahem! Ahem! Hello? Is this thing working?” A high-pitched, child-like voice rang through the intercoms. Makoto felt as if his soul left his body. “Mike check, one-two. One two. Is the school’s broadcast system even working? Well, I hope everyone can hear me. Alrighty then.”

The voice was unlike anything Makoto has ever heard. It held no emotion, but only a tone of playfulness. There was no sound of concern or an ounce of care in its voice for them. Makoto felt a deep dark dread, ripple throughout his body. To say Makoto was disturbed was putting it lightly.

“To all incoming students!” The commodity resumed. “I would like to begin the entrance ceremony at uh, right now! Please make it to the gymnasium at your earliest convenience! That is all! I’ll be waiting, puhuhuhu!”

The amusement is what sets off most of the students. An aura filled with terror and disorder filtered the small area. Junko erupted first. A hand reached under her chin as she was the first to vocalize. 

“What. The. Hell,” Junko muttered. “Was that just now!?”

“Well,” Byakuya tsked as he turned around and headed towards the exit. It was more of a march, rather than the taller student marching off. He wasn’t angry, but he was undoubtedly annoyed. “If you’ll excuse me.”

“H-Hey!” Junko yells as he leaves. “Are you just gonna take off like that?”

“Oh, yeah!” Yasuhiro starts again, the only one who wasn’t nervous or frightened. “I get it now! This whole spiel was just to get us pumped for the entrance ceremony. What a relief! I’d be freaking out if this whole thing was real.” 

“Alright, guess that means I’ll head out too. I wonder what else is in store?” The man then followed after Byakuya. Yasuhiro gave a bewildering expression as he moved towards the exit. 

“Damn,” Leon grumbles. “I was looking forward to that nap too. Why’d they have to go and ruin the mood.”

Once Leon left, a few of the others followed after him. Chihiro didn’t want to be left behind, while Celeste only grinned and followed the crowd. Toko muttered about no-one caring whether or not she left. Makoto stood behind and watched as they left. He wanted to yell at them to wait, but he felt like he was stuck. Makoto’s body shaking in place with his fist clenched to the point of turning white.

“This. . .” Sayaka starts, uneasy. “This doesn’t feel right.”

“Yeah,” Junko continues. An eyebrow raised as she watched everyone leave. “That announcement was so weird.” 

“Maybe,” Kyoko begins, looking deep in thought. It’s the first time she’s spoken since the introduction. “But staying here won’t guarantee our safety. Even then, aren’t you guys a little curious to find out what’s going on here?”

“If we do not move forward, we learn nothing,” Sakura affirms sternly. “The only choice we have is to push forward.”

They both were right in a way. Makoto knew that, yet he just didn’t want to find out. Unfortunately, that choice wasn’t for him to make. Even if he wished he could stay here, he doubts that something will allow that. 

“They said to go to the gym, right?” Makoto says to no-one in particular. Although the same thought rests on their minds, he goes over to check on some of the others.

“Wh-What the heck is this!?” Kiyotaka yells. “Is this someone’s bad idea of a joke?” 

“I-I’m not sure. . .” Makoto admits. He looks back behind Kiyotaka to look at the door from earlier. It looked like a giant gate, almost as if they were in some secret military base. Kiyotaka looks back at Makoto, and he flushes. 

“A-Ah, my apologies for staring. There’s just a lot going on at the moment.” Kiyotaka bows and it was then Makoto’s turn to go red in the face. He had no idea why, as he shouldn’t be that embarrassed in the first place. Kiyotaka did seem like a good person though, so that might be why Makoto feels so awkward when the other student apologizes.

“I-It’s fine. Is there anything else?” Makoto questions so he can change the topic. He didn’t know why his face felt warm when he got near the taller male.

“Ah, yes. The camera up there.” Kiyotaka points upwards with Makoto glancing in that direction. A surveillance camera had a firearm attached to it. “D-Do you think that’s an actual gun? It looks way too real to be fake!”

“I wouldn’t be surprised.” Makoto swallowed the bile in his throat. The double-barrel sentry didn’t look fake, and that’s what worried him. Mondo stomped on the ground, expression quickly turning sour. 

“Shit!” He growls. “What the hell kind of game are they playing!?” Makoto shrugs and turns away from him. Sayaka then steps over to them. Voice shaky. 

“Something weird is going on here, right? It isn’t just me?” 

“I know how you must feel,” Kyoko adds in. There was, once again, nothing to discern what she could be thinking. “All we can do now is check it out.”

“True,” Sakura mutters. “If we don’t move forward, then we learn nothing. The only choice is to push ahead.” Sakura frowned as she kept her arms down at her side.

Once she finished, the students reluctantly decided that it was then time to move on. The students made their way back through the strange hallways. Going down to the left, they passed by a few locked doors, which Makoto wished he could explore. The smaller student then noticed some stairs that appeared to be blocked as well, with a barred-metal gate.

The boy felt sick as he made his way over to the gym. The curiosity was slowly replacing the ongoing fear he felt. He needed- no- he wanted to find out what was going on. It was a mystery that Makoto Naegi wished to figure out. He knows he’s not the only one that feels this way.

Once they made it to what looked like a small trophy room, Mondo huffed as they all stood in front of the two double doors. The orange walls and red carpet that led there felt weird to step on. It could just be Makoto who was incredibly anxious, but the rest of the students didn’t look to be faring any better than he was.

“God,” Mondo growled. “I had no fuckin’ idea that this place was gonna be such a huge pain in the ass. It ain’t that much different from the time I spent in juvie. Hell, this place is even worse!” He shyly reached a hand behind his neck.

“Then why isn’t there anyone here?” Sayaka continued. She was shaking badly. “Walking through the halls, I didn’t see a single person.”

“T-That seriously can’t be good.” Junko faltered. Sweat dripping down her face, she wiped her upper brow

“Th-They’re just trying to spook us,” Kiyotaka suggests. “They’ll take down those metal bars. I’m sure of it!” Kiyotaka boldly declares with a raised fist. 

Makoto wasn’t too sure about that. If it was some sort of scare tactic, though, it was working. It was working great. Thinking back to it, he wonders why everything is blocked off in the first place?

“All we can do now is prepare ourselves,” Sakura states calmly. “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

Mondo growls again as he steps forward. “Well, hell, it ain’t like I’m scared or nothin’. Let’s just get this over with!” Mondo’s face then goes red in anger as he almost bursts into the gym. “Hey, whoever the hell called us here, you’re dead!”

“Mondo, no running!” Kiyotaka shouts as he runs after him. Mondo didn’t wait for him.

“I too shall go,” Sakura states as she closes her eyes and strolls into the gym. A calm and stoic posture as she walks inside.

“H-Hey!” Hifumi yells out as fat crocodile tears fall down his cheeks. “Don’t leave me here all alone!” The portly boy runs in after her, almost smacking into the door as he goes inside.

Now, it was only Makoto, Sayaka, Junko, and Kyoko that stood, waiting. The imposing doors that would lead them to an uncertain future. Makoto went over to Sayaka first. He wanted to comfort the pop idol, but in his dilemma, that might not be the best idea.

“W-Where are all the other students? Why are we the only ones here?” She says, barely above a whisper. Makoto was wondering that as well, but he was more surprised that she was the only one to bring that up. 

Kyoko stood silent as Makoto regarded her. She didn’t stare at him or say a single word. If anything, she seemed the calmest out of all of them. There were no emotions that Makoto could place on her. Junko tapped her foot impatiently. “I’m seriously getting bad vibes from this.”

Makoto wanted to go over and ask her everything. What she knows, and who exactly she is, but he couldn’t. He already tried that earlier. The boy looked forward again. Makoto couldn’t explain what was happening or what exactly he was feeling. How did an average student like him get caught in a mess like this? This uneasy and uncertain feeling refused to go away. Makoto let in a breath he didn’t know he needed.

With a glance behind him, Makoto entered into an unknown future.

**Author's Note:**

> I apologize if the prologue is a bit too much like the actual game, but that wasn't anything I planned to change. So once I finish, we'll move on to the main events. By main events, I mean nothing will be the same after the prologue. 
> 
> Little side note, the ships aren't the main focus, well except Naeishi because it's my (Book) favorite rare pairing, and I wish there was more content for it.
> 
> Also, if there are any specific character interactions you guys wish to see, please let us know!
> 
> -Book and Alexon
> 
> P.S. If anyone knows how to do the co-creator thing, please let me know, cause I think it's broken


End file.
